Welt-guide mechanism for welt-shoe-sewing machines.



A. EPP'LER. WELT GUIDE MECHANISM FOR WELT SHOE SEWING MACHINES.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 22, 1909.

Patented 0013.21, 1913.

6 SHEETSSHEET 1.

A. EPPLER. WELT GUIDB'MECHANISM FOR WELT SHOE snwme MACHINES.

APPIiIOATION FILED NOV. 22, 1909 Patented 0015.21, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. E'PPLER. v WELT GUIDE MECHANISM FOR WELT SHOE SEWING MACHINES.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 22, 1909.

Patented' Oct. 21, 1913.

6' SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'A. EPPLBR. WELT GUIDE MECHANISM FOR WELT SHOE SEWING MACHINES. APP LIdATION FILED NOV. 22, 1909.

1,@76,201. v Patented 0bt.2 1,1913.

- B SHEETS-SHEET 4.

- LMQ A. BPPLER. WELT GUIDE MECHANISM FOR WELT SHOE SEWING MACHINES.

. I APPLIUATION FILED NOV. 22, 1909. 1,076,201.. Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

W WVM YW n A. EPPLER. WELTGUIDB MECHANISM FOR WELT SHOE SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22 1909.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

re; s rra'r rare.

ANDREW EPPL ER, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CQMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEVJ JERSEY, A GORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

WELT-'GUIDE MECHANISM FOR WELTi-SEQE-SEWING MACHINES.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ANDREW EPPLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in felt-Guide Mechanism for Welt-Shoe-Sewing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The operator of a welt shoe sewing machine at the beginning of the welting operation holds the end of the welt against the shoe so that the welt will be fed with the shoe during theformation of the first few stitches. As a result of this practice, a considerable len 'th of welting is wasted since the seam must be started at some distance from the end of the welt. To enable the seam to be started close to the end of the .welt devices have been embodied in welt sewing machines adapted to engage the welt close to the point at which the needle passes through the welt in making the first stitch, these devices being thrown out of engagement with the welt after a number of stitches have been taken. These devices, however, add to the complexity of the machine, take up an objectionable amount of room and require more or less attention on the part of the operator.

The principal objectof the present inven tion is to provide means whereby the seam can be started close to the end of the welt without the use of a welt holding device in addition to the welt guide.

With this object in view, a feature of the present invention contemplates the provision in a welt sewing machine of a welt guide which is moved toward and from the shoe during the sewing operation, with means whereby the welt guide is held in advanced position at the beginning of the sewing operation and during at leastone cycle of operations of the machine. The princ'pal reason for the displacement of the weld with relation to the shoe at the beginning of the sewin}; operation, unless the end of the welt is held by the operator, is the retracting movement of the welt guide which takes place j ust before and during the feeding movem nt of the shoe. -By holding the guide in its Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 22, 1909.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

Serial No. 529,412.

holding device and without any manipula-,

tion of the welt by the operator. In the illustrated embodiment of this feature of the invention hereinafter described, means are provided for holding the guide in its advanced position during the first cycle of operations of the machine and thereafter the welt guide is moved toward and from the shoe during each cycle of operations. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to a construction in which the guide is held in its advanced position during only the first cycle of operations but includes any construction by which the guide is held in its advanced position for any desired length of time at the beginning of the sewing operation. In carrying out this feature of the invention any suitable means may be provided for holding the guide in its advanced position. In the preferred form of the invention, however, means are provided for rendering the mechanism which normally retracts the welt guide inoperative at the beginning of the sewing operation.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a welt guide mechanism having improved means forlocking the welt guide during each cycle of operations of'the machine, in'iproved means for actuating the welt guide whereby the extent of its retracting movement can be adjusted, and improved means for retracting the welt guide when the tension on the thread is released to permit the removal of work from the machine.

With these objects in View the invention also consists in the devices combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and cia-imed, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the following description.

The several features of the present invention will be clearly understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings in Figure 1 a view in side elevation of a I welt shoe sewing machine embodying. the

, locking the welt guide in advanced position.

Fig. 4: is a view in side elevation similar 7 to Figs. 1 and 2 but showing the parts in still another position. Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation with parts broken away or removed to show underlying parts, a portion of said view being in section. Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation partly in section of the tension devices and actuating mechanism therefor. Fi 7 is a detail plan view taken on the line 7,.of Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 8-'8, Fig. 4, and Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line 9-9, Fig. 2. I

The machine illustrated in the drawings is a curved hook needle welt sewing machine and except as hereinafter described is the same in construction and mode of operation as the machine disclosed in applicants prior application, No. 4 17,5 12, filed August'S, 1908.

In the drawings 1 indicates the curved hook needle of the machine, 2 the needle guide, 3 the looper, 4 the thread arm, 5 the awl, 6 the channel guide, 7 the welt guide, and 8 the back rest. The back rest iscarried by a reciprocating slide 9 and the welt guide is carried on a swinging arm 10 which is connected by a link 11 to the welt guide actuating slide 12. The welt guide slide 12 is acted uponby a spring 13 which tends to move the slide toward the front of the machine and presses the welt uide into contact with the work. When the machine is in operation the slide 12 is retracted at agiven point in each cycle of operations by a cam actuated lever 14, the lower end of which is connected by a link 15 to a roller clutch box 16, surrounding the welt guide slide. At certain times during each cycle of operations of the machine the welt guide slide 12 and the backrest 9 are locked against backward movement by a cam and spring actuated bell crank 17, the vertical arm of which is pivotally connected to a sliding wedge 18 located between two looking rolls 19 and arranged to press said rolls against the slides.

Except for the form of the connection between the cam actuated lever 14 and the clutch box 16, which will be hereinafter described, and except for the manner in which the locking wedge 18 is actuated, the arts so far described are constructed an ar-. ranged to operate in the same manner as in the machine of applicants prior application.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings means are provided for locking the clutch box 16 against backward movement during the first cycle of operations of the machine at the beginning of the sewing operation so that the welt guide remains in its advanced position in contact with the shoe and is not retracted by the movement of the lever 14:. To enable the lever 14 to move without moving the clutch box, the link 15, which connects the lever and the clutch box, is made in two parts with one part arranged to slide inside. of the otheras best shown in Fig. 5. The parts of the link 15 are normally held against relative movement by means of a spring 20 surrounding a rod 21 and interposed between nuts on the end of the rod and a lug on the portion of the link 15 which is con nected to the lever 14. The rod 21 passes through the lu on the link 15 and is pivotally connected to a projection on the portion of the link connected to the box 16.

The means for locking the clutch box 16 against backward movement during the first cycle of operations of the machine consists of a locking device in the form of a lever 22 pivoted upon a stationary part of the machine frame and provided at its upper free end with a roll engaging the surface of a cam disk 23 on the driving shaft 2 1. The lever 22 is forced upwardly by a spring 25 interposed between a seat on the frame of the machine and a shoulder 26 on the lever. Near its lower free end the lever 22 is pro videdwith a laterally projecting shoulder 27, best shown in Fig. 8, which when the lever is in its raised position engages the rear side of a screw head 28 projecting from the clutch box 16, as indicated in Fig. 3. When the machine is operating to sew a scam the Cams on the driving shaft rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 3, and during the first rotation of the cam 23 at the beginning of the sewing operation, the lever 22 is depressed a sufiicient distance to remove the projection 27 from the path of the screw head 28. This downward movement of the lever 22 takes place before the lever 14. of the welt guide retracting mechanism is actuated. During the rotation of the cam 23 the lever 22 after being depressed. is immediately raised so that it again engages the screw head 28 and prevents backward movement of the welt guide when the lever 14 is ac tuated. During the second rotation of the cam 23 the lever 22 is again depressed and this time it is locked in its depressed position and remains locked until the sewing operation has been completed so that during each subsequent cycle of operations of the machine the welt guide is moved toward and from the shoe.

The means illustrated in the drawings for locking the lever 22 in its depressed position consists t a latch. 29 pivotally mounted on the frame of the machine and having its lower end arranged toswing over a lateral depressed position.

inseam v projection on the lever 22. The latch is acted upon by a coiled spring 31 which tends to move the lower'end of the latch into locking position over the projection 30. The projection 30, however, prevents the latch from moving to locking position at all times except when the lever 22 is in its extreme To prevent the latch from moving into locking position when the lever 22 is depressed during the first cycle of operations, a pawl 32 is provided pivoted on the frame of the machine and arranged to engage anotoh in the upper end of the latch. This pawl holds the latch out of locking engagement with the lever 22 when the lever is depressed during-the first cycle of operations but is moved out of engagement with the latch when the lever rises to its highest position by means of a pin 33 on the lever.

The relative position of the parts at the beginning of the sewing operation is indicated in Fig. 1, in which it will be seen that the locking lever 22 is in an intermediate position and the latch 29 is engaged by the pawl In this position of the parts the clutch box 16 is locked against backward movement by the projection 27 on the lever 22-. When the machineis thrown into operation the cam 23 rotates in the opposite direction from that indicated by the-arrow on Fig. '1 and during the first portion of the revolution of the cam the lever 22 is depressed to its lowest position. As the cam continues to revolve the lever 22 rises to its highest position and the pin 33 lifts the pawl 32 out of engagement with the latch as indicated in Fig. 2. During the continued rotation of the cam 23 the lower end of the latch bears against the side of the projection on the lever 22 and is thus prevented from moving to looking position. The lever thus locks the clutch box 16 against backward movement during the first rotation of the driving shaft so that the welt guide is not retracted when the lever 1 1 is actuated. During the second rotation of the cam 23, the lever 22 is again depressed to its lowest position and at this time the latch 29 swings over the projection 30 on the lever and locks the lever in its depressed position. During the continued operation of the machine the lever 22 remains locked in its depressed position and the welt guide is retracted during each cycle of operations in the usual manner. At the end of the sewing operation the'direction of rotation of the driving shaft is reversed to release the tension and retract the, .wclt guide as will be hereinafter described and at this time the latch 29 is moved out of engagement with the lever 22 and into engagement with the pawl 32 to set the parts in the position indicated in Fig. 1 by means of a rod 34- pivotally connected to an armprojecting from the hub of a bell crank 35 forming a part of the tension releasing mechanism. The rod 34: is mounted to slide in the frame of the machine and its free end is arranged to engage the upper end of the latch 29, as indicated in Fig. 1.

In welt sewing machines provided with a movable welt guide it is customary to press the welt guide yieldingly toward the shoe while the needle is passing through the work and to lock the welt guide against backward movement during the retracting stroke of the needle.

in accordance with a feature of the present invention means are provided for looking the welt guide while thepoint of the needle is passing through the work to prevent excessive displacement of the shoe by the needle in cas the needle strikes a tack or other obstruction and for releasing the guide during the continued forward movement of the needle to permit the guide to be 1 pressed closely against the shoe. Means are also provided for locking the welt guide during the retracting stroke of the needle.

In the construction illustrated in the drawings these means consist of the locking wedge 18, the lever 17 and the spring and cam for actuating'thc lever, which parts are so constructed and arranged that the wedge 18 is advanced to lock the welt guide slide while the point of the needle is passing through the work, is then retracted to release the welt guide slide during the continued forward movement of the needle and is'then advanced to lock the slide during the retracting stroke of the needle.

The welt guide of the machine illustrated in'the drawings is yieldingly pressed towardthe shoe by means of the spring 13 and is retracted by the clutch box 16, earn actuated lever 14 andintermediate connections. The clutch box'alternately grips and'releases the welt guide slide 12 so that the slide when released can move with relation to the clutch box. The guide can thus be pressed yieldingly into contact with the work regardless of the thickness of the work at the point being operated upon, while the mechanism for retracting the welt guide will always retract it a uniform distance from the work.

A feature of the present invention consists in the provision of means whereby the retracting movement of the welt guide can be adjusted to suit the character of the work being operated upon. .As illustrated in the drawings this means consists of an adjustable connect-ion between the link 15 and the lower end of the-camactuated lever 14, the lower end-of the 'lever being pro vided with a slot36= which. receives an adjustable block to wlhi'ch zthe link 15 is-pivoted.

lheimaohine illustrated in the drawings is provided with a tension device and means for actuating it to exert a comparatively light tension on the thread during the loop drawing stroke of the needle and a comparatively heavy tension during the stitch setting stroke of the take-up and is also provided with a tension releasing mechanism actuated by a backward rotation of the cam shaft of the machine. It is not desired to claim this tension mechanism and tension releasing mechanism in this application but only the tension releasing mechanism in combination with means for retracting the welt guide to allow the insertion of work in the machine. I The tension mechanism illustrated in the drawings comprises two brake shoes 37 and 38 which engage drums 39 and 40 on the shaft of the tension truck 41. The brake shoes 37 and 38 are mounted respectively upon the lower ends of levers 42 and 43 pivoted upon a fixed part of the machine frame. The brake shoes are oppositely disposed with relation to each other "so as to engage opposite sides of their re spective drums. The levers 42 and 43 carrying the brake shoes are both acted upon by a single spring 44 which surrounds a rod 45 and is interposed between nuts 46 on the outer end of the rod and the rear side of the lever 42. The rod 45 is pivotally connected at its inner end to the lever 43 and passes transversely through a slot in the lever 42. The pressure exerted by each brake shoe on its cotiperating drum can be adjusted by a single adjustment of the spring 44.' The" pressure of the shoe 37 on the drum 39 can be adjusted without changing the tension of the spring by moving the rod 45 about its pivot so as to adjust the point of application of the spring 44 with relation to the fulcrum of the lever 42. To look the rod in adjusted position a collar 47 closely surrounds the rod 45 between the spring 44 and the lever 42 and is provided with teeth arranged to engage teeth on the lever. The variation in tension during each cycle of operations of the machine is produced by movin the brake shoe into and out of contact with the disk 40. To accomplish this result a lever 48 is provided, the lower end of which 'is arranged to engage a pin 49 projecting from the lever 43 and the upper end of which is arranged to engage the vertical arm of a cam actuated bell crank 50.

The tension releasin mechanism of the machine illustrated in t e drawings'includes an arm 51 pivotally mounted upon the vertical arm of thebell crank 35 and provided with two surfaces 52 and 53 located at dif- 'ferent distances from the pivotal connection projection 56 on the arm 51 between the surfaces 52 and 53. When the machine is operating to sew a scam, the arm 51 IS in the that the surfaces 52 and 53 are at difi'erent distances from the pivotal connection of the arm with the bell crank 35 and this longitudinal movement of the arm 51 oscillates the bell crank 35. To the horizontal arm of the bell crank 35 is pivotally'connected the upper end of a vertical rod 57 which is provided with a shoulder 58 located above a horizontal arm 59 formed integral with the lever 42, the arrangement being such that when the rod is depressed by the movement of the arm-51 and bell crank 35 the brake shoe 37 is moved out of engagement with the drum The cam for actuating the bell crank 50 is so arranged that when the direction of rotation of the driving shaft is reversed, the bell crank is actuated to move the brake shoe 38 out of engagement with the drum 40. The reversal of rotation of the driving shaft therefore throws both brake shoes out of operation and releases the tension on the thread so that the work can be readily removed from the machine.

The connections between the tension releasing mechanism and the welt guide, for retracting the welt guide, as illustrated in the drawings, consist of a bell crank lever 60, the horizontal arm of which extends beneath the lower end of the rod 57 and the vertical arm of which engages a nut 61 on. the rear end of a rod 62 connected to the welt guide slide 12. The rod 62 passes loosely through a hole in the upper end of the bell crank 60 so that during the normal operation of the machine the welt guide slide can move back and forth independently of the bellcrank. The bell crank 60 is actuated to retract the welt guide whenever the rod 57 is depressed. The bell crank is re turned to its normal position so as not to interfere with the movements of the welt guide slide by a coiled spring 63 interposed between a stationary'part of the machine frame and the rear side of the beli crank.

The nature and scope of the present invention having been indicated and a construction embodying the several features of the invention in their preferred form having been specifically described, what is claimed is o. l 1. Aninseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming devices, a welt guide, means acting during the normal operation of the machinein sewing a :scam to move the guide toward and from the shoe during each cycle of operations of the machine, and means for holding the guide in advanced position during at least one cycle of operations'of the machine. A

2. Aninseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch orming devices, a welt guide, mechanism for retracting the welt guide during each cycle of operations of the machine, and means for rendering said mechanism inoperative during at least one cycle of operations.

3. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, ,in combination, stitch forming devices, a welt guide, mechanism including a yielding connection for retractin the welt guide during each cycle Of'OPQIittlOIlS of the machine, and means for preventing backward movement of the welt guide during at least one cycle of operations.

4. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming'devices, a welt guide, a welt guide slide, mechanism including a yielding connection for retracting the welt guide slide during each cycle of operations of the machine, a cam actuated locking device to prevent movement of the slide by its actuating mechanism, a latch to hold the locking device in inoperative position, a pawl to hold the'latch 1n inoperative position during thefirstrnovem'ent of the locking device and means for actuating the pawl to release the latch during the-first cycle of operations of the machine, whereby the latch engages the locking device during the second cycle of operations.

5. An inseam shoe sewing machine, hav-' ing, in combination, stitch forming devices 1 including a hooked needle, a welt guide,

means for yieldingly forcing the Fwelt guide toward the shoe and meansforlockin the welt guide while the point of the nee leis passingthrou'gh the work, for releasing the guide during the continued forward move ment of the needle, and for again locking the guide during the retracting stroke of the ing, in combination, stitch formin \devices,

including a hooked needle, a} we t guide,

means for yieldingly forcing the welt guide toward the shoe, means for'lockin the welt guide while the point of the need 6 is passmg through the work and formeleasing the a guide during the continued fonyvard movement of the needle.

7. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming devices, a welt guide, means acting during the normal operation oi the. machine in sewing a seam to move the guide towardand from the shoe during each cycle of operations of the machine, a tensionzdevice. mechanism actuated by a reversal vin, the direction of rotation of the main driving shaft of the mathe welt guide against the shoe, mechanism.

for imparting to the welt guide a uniform retracting movement during each cycle of operations of the machine and'mechanism in addition to said first mentioned mechanism actuated by a reversal in the direction of rotation of the-main driving shaft ofthe machine for retracting the welt guide.

I 9.;An inseam shoe sewm' machine, having, .in combination, stitch orming devices, a welt guide, means for'yieldingly pressing the welt guide against the shoe, mechanism for imparting to the welt guide a uniform retracting movement during each cycle of operations of the machine, a tension device,

mechanism for actuating-the tension device to remove the tension on the thread to allow "the removal of work from the machine, and

connections between said mechanism and the welt guide acting to retract the welt guide when the tension is released.

10. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming devices, a welt guide, means for yieldingly pressing the welt guide against the shoe, mechanism for imparting to the welt guide a uniform retracting movement during each cycle ,of operations of the machine, a tension device,

mechanism actuated by a reversal in the di- 1 rection of rotation of the main driving shaft of the machine for actuating the tension device to relieve the tension on the thread to allow the removal of work from the ma chine and connections-between said mechanism and the welt guide acting to retract the welt guide when the tension is released.

11. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices,

welt guide, means acting during the nor inal operation of the machine in sewing a seam to move the guide toward and from the shoe during eachcycle of operations of the machine, and mechanism normally inoper- *ative during the sewing 'of the seam arranged to be actuated by the driving shaft of the machine and acting when thrown into operation to retract the welt guide to allow the insertion of WOl'k in the machine.

ANDREW EPPLER.

Witnesses:

WARREN G. OGDEN,

FRED ,O. FISH.

Copies ofth is patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,-

Washington, D. C. 

